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Don't f*ck with a Biden

The hall monitor sad that everyone wants to be with the football captain

Well. Yesterday was chock-a-block full of #DarkBrandon news.

President Joe Biden visited storm-ravaged Florida yesterday to survey the damage wrought by Hurricane Ian. As you can see, a certain governor was not feeling the love from his citizens.

Pres. Biden, in his visit, got off a couple of good zingers, reminding Ron DeSantis who, in fact, is president.
And then, of course, came the hot mic heard 'round the world, and the source for the title of today's piece:
This is what scares the powers on the right and in the media. Pres. Biden is relatable. He's down to earth. He's not full of himself. But he has a spine of steel and an iron fist in that velvet glove. He will exercise his power when it's warranted, and he has done so successfully. DeSantis was forced to acknowledge that his state, in the condition it's in, needs Joe Biden and the federal government. And that is eating him alive. When ideology runs into the realities of the world, it can't be a pleasant experience for the ideologue.

Then there's OPEC.

The cartel, led by Saudi Arabia, decided yesterday to cut production by 2 million barrels a day. Of course, this is an in-kind donation to the GOP midterm effort. Pres. Biden had said earlier that he would take any such move as a "hostile act."

The great and the good scoffed. What could poor old Joe do against vigorous and manly Mohammed bin Salman?

The Biden administration is preparing to scale down sanctions on Venezuela’s authoritarian regime to allow Chevron Corp. CVX 0.57%▲ to resume pumping oil there, paving the way for a potential reopening of U.S. and European markets to oil exports from Venezuela, according to people familiar with the proposal.

In exchange for the significant sanctions relief, the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro would resume long-suspended talks with the country’s opposition to discuss conditions needed to hold free and fair presidential elections in 2024, the people said. The U.S., Venezuela’s government and some Venezuelan opposition figures have also worked out a deal that would free up hundreds of millions of dollars in Venezuelan state funds frozen in American banks to pay for imports of food, medicine and equipment for the country’s battered electricity grid and municipal water systems.

U.S. officials said details are still under discussion and cautioned that the deal could fall through, because it is contingent on Mr. Maduro’s top aides resuming talks with the opposition in good faith.

“There are no plans to change our sanctions policy without constructive steps from the Maduro regime,” Adrienne Watson, spokeswoman for the National Security Council, said.
He's offering the Maduro regime what it wants, in exchange for US demands. That should head off any howls that this is a give-away to a ruthless dictator. It's not. It's a quid pro quo to move the political needle in Venezuela, get much-needed oil, and remind the Saudi bone-saw prince who is the superpower, and who is not.

Pres. Biden recognizes that reliance on fossil fuels prone to hostage-taking by murderous tyrants is not only a climate issue, but a national security one. The idea that a blood-soaked Saudi prince can put his finger on the scale to influence an election in the US should raise the hackles of any true patriot. We have no choice but to wean ourselves off of dead dinosaurs, so that the OPEC countries are reduced to penury and unable to sway votes in the West. They picked this fight; they will lose.

Behind Joe Biden's affability is a steely resolve. People keep making the mistake of not seeing that. They will continue to suffer because of it.
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